PORTLAND, OR (January 24, 2014) – For the first time in its history, a female farmer has won the Brazil Cup of Excellence® Late Harvest competition. Cinthia Dias Villela from Nossa Senhora Aparecida of the Carmo de Minas region produced the highest scoring of 23 Cup of Excellence® award-winning coffees evaluated by an international panel of judges representing 10 countries.

The #1 lot score of 92.22 points set a new record for the Late Harvest competition.

Two other coffees in the competition also qualified for the Cup of Excellence® Presidential Award by achieving a score of 90 points or above: Lot #2, Fazenda Paraíso of Conceição das Pedras with 90.25 points and Lot #3, Sítio da Serra of Carmo de Minas at 90.19 points.

The Late Harvest competition, one of two Cup of Excellence® events held in Brazil each year, features Brazil's exceptional dry natural processed coffees. An Early Harvest competition highlights top pulped natural and washed coffees. Both events are made possible with the support of ApexBrasil, the Brazilian trade and investment promotion agency.

The winning lots will be auctioned on March 4, 2014 on the Alliance for Coffee Excellence website. Auction preview cupping will be held in select locations worldwide beginning in late February.